Species
Wallabia bicolor
Common Name(s)
Swamp wallaby
Family
Macropodidae
Habitat
Swamp wallabies inhabit dense kânuka scrub on Kauwau Island with an understorey of minimingi, grass species and tree ferns.
Compared to other wallaby species they eat little grass, thus browse on trees and bushes like karaka, mingimingi.
Description
Swamp wallabies are one of the larger wallaby’s species. Its coat has a dark grey back and a pale yellow belly, with yellow stripes on the cheek.
Similar Species
Macropus dorsali, Macropus eugenii eugenii, Macropus parma, Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus and Petrogale penicillata
Threat To Plants
Grazing of palatable species, which my alter species regeneration and vegetation composition
Distribution
restricted to Kauwau Island
Year Introduced
1870s
Reason For Introduction
Curiosity
Colonisation History
First introduced to New Zealand on Kauwau Island in the 1870s by Sir George Grey